Trippin with the Stumpster

What a fun day! On Saturday, our winter Texan friends, Jim, Marty, and Phyllis graciously offered to take us on a road trip and it sure was a great time! Good food, good people, good times! What more can you ask for, right? So after having a tasty lunch of red fish and flounder at an eclectic place called Red Willies, we road the ferry once again and ended up on a beautiful beach on the outskirts of Port Aransas.  At the far end of the beach, a granite jetty stretched out into the Gulf of Mexico.  It provided a rocky pathway for numerous fishermen and spectators who were either enjoying the anticipation of the catch, or soaking in the beautiful view of the puffy white clouds, the beautiful blue skies, and the sounds of the powerful crashing waves. It was nothing short of amazing! As the big waves crashed onto the beach, a multitude of seagulls flooded the sky.  My friend Phyllis had secretly brought along a bag of stale popcorn, which she humbly shared with me so we c...

Last week Jer and I traveled to downtown Corpus Christi and spent some time by the docks at the marina.  Somehow we had timed it perfectly as a couple of boats had just pulled in and were unloading their latest catch.  The nets were full as the crew reeled them in.  It was fascinating! When asked what type of fish they were fishing for, one of the fishermen explained that a red fish tournament would be happening soon, so they were actually fishing for bait.  This bait would in turn be sold to the tournament participants in hopes of catching the prize winning red fish. As the catch was sorted, a few blue crab fish were spotted and several of the spectators immediately purchased them for the price of $2.00 each.  That's quite reasonable considering the price you pay for crab in a restaurant! As the sorting of fish continued, a multitude of anxious pelicans lined the boat rails.  They grunted and squawked with excitement as they waited for the feed....

Last week Jer and I visited the WWII aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Lexington.  While it's just a couple of blocks from our condo, I'm not lying when I tell you that I would drive many miles to see this amazing piece of history.  All I can say is WOW! Launched in 1942, this naval ship saw extensive action thru the Pacific War.  Decommissioned in 1991, today she is docked at Corpus Christi, and now operates as a museum. My imagination took over as I toured the different levels of the ship.  I felt as if I was part of the naval crew as I went through the barracks, the mess hall, the chapel, the doctor's office, the dentist office, the hospital, and onto the flight deck.  It was so very interesting. Imagine my surprise, when one of the first exhibits we visited was in memory of Iowa's own, Nile Kinnick. Not only was Kinneck a famous Iowa football player, it turns out Mr. Kinnick was also the U.S.S. Lexington's first casualty.  While conducting training fli...

Well, you know what they say about birthdays - if you're lucky enough, you get to have one every year.  So, praise the Lord! We were lucky and once again,  Jer and I got to celebrate another one.  This time we celebrated right here in Corpus Christi.  And what a birthday it was!  Let's just say, these Texan snowbirds sure do know how to party! So, to start it off, we all hopped in our cars and met at "Black Beards" for some noon time lunch.  "Black Beards" is a "pirate" restaurant located just a short distance from our condo.  All buccaneers are welcomed there - even our large group of sixteen.  Yes!  SIXTEEN - who came from places as far away as as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, Texas, Kansas, and Iowa. Wow!  What a blessing!  A short time ago, these people were strangers - we now call them friends!  And oh, let me tell you, they're pretty good singers too!  After lunch they all belted out a special rendition of "Happy B...

Wow!  What a game!  The Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl over the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 31 to 20!  It was the first Chiefs' Super Bowl win in 50 years!  Yahoo!!!  Woohoo!  And go Chiefs! Talk about a game!  Once again it was a come from behind victory for the Chiefs.  Trailing by ten, they scored three (yes THREE!) touchdowns in the last SIX minutes!  Amazing!  I think we'll hear a lot more about quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the years to come.  Selected as MVP, Mahomes is the youngest quarterback ever to receive this honor. While I'm generally much more interested in college football, this year was different.  Kansas City Chiefs linebacker, Ben Niemann,  #56 has local ties to my hometown.  His parents, LouAnn and Jay, graduated from the same high school as I.  I actually ran track and played basketball and softball with both his mom and his Aunt Lisa.  (By the way - they were a hoot!)...

Have you ever noticed how your senses seem to be on high alert whenever you're staying away from home?  It's weird, but on vacation, I always seem to be jabbing Jer in the middle of the night, asking, "what's that?"  I don't know what you call it, but I've heard some people refer to those freaky noises as "things that go bump in the night". Well, the older I get, I've come to the realization that "things that go bump in the night", seem to be happening less and less. Those night bumps must be happening after 9 p.m..  I'm generally an early to bed person, so I'm more likely to hear things that go bump in the "day".  So bear with me as I share my latest "bump in the day" story. Shortly after Jer and I arrived here in Corpus, we started to notice this weird repetitive moan every morning.  It seemed to happen like clockwork - at the same time every single morning.  "Hmmmm---moan......Hmmmm---moan--...